RUNGA Radio

This week, Dominic D’Agostino, Ph.D., joins me to explain how the brain benefits from ketosis. Dr. Dom is an Associate Professor at the University of South Florida, where he teaches at The Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology and at The Morsani College of Medicine. He’s also a research scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. His work focuses on developing ways to produce therapeutic ketosis in order to prevent seizures and provide neuroprotection for people suffering from traumatic brain injuries and neurodegenerative diseases. 

Dr. Dom explains how the ketogenic diet helps to reduce inflammation and restore neurotransmitter and metabolic homeostasis in the brain. What’s more, he reveals the reason why some people get into high levels of ketosis quickly while others struggle to increase the levels of ketones in their blood. Finally, we discuss the effect that elevated levels of ketones have on our mental clarity and athletic performance, and Dom shows us how to incorporate some level of ketosis into our daily lives through diet, intermittent fasting, and supplementation with MCTs and ketone salts.

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This week, Wade Lightheart, the co-founder of BiOptimizers, joins me for a second time on the show. In our previous conversation, we dove deep into the subjects of soil depletion and nutrient deficiency. Today, we tackle the crucial issues of metabolic health and blood sugar and discuss the benefits of hiring a coach to help you achieve and sustain your health and fitness goals.

As the co-founder of a company whose mission is to optimize human health and performance, Wade explains how Blood Sugar Breakthrough helps regulate blood sugar levels and improve carbohydrate metabolism. He also shares some simple, practical ways to manage your blood sugar and improve your overall health.

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In this solo episode, I show you how to incorporate heavy kettlebells into your routine and describe how to do deadlifts, deadswings, and static holds with a 100 lb bell. As a big fan of heavy bells, I emphasize their ability to build strength, improve form, and help you achieve optimal results, as well as making the training you do with your standard weight bells feel so much easier. Since it’s Friday, I also share a couple of workouts and tell you a little about my upcoming Endure Strong and Endure Max training programs. 

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This week I’m joined by my fellow kettlebell and Bulgarian Bag enthusiast, Mike Salemi. Mike is a former Long Cycle Clean and Jerk World Champion who competed for over 15 years in powerlifting and kettlebell sport. As a specialist in optimizing human performance, Mike trains elite athletes in a variety of sports. He also offers a range of online courses designed to make you feel great and improve your strength, fitness, and stability. 

We start the show with a chat about masculinity before moving onto our shared mission of combining physical strength and fitness with reflective inner work and self-inquiry. Later, we delve into kettlebells, Bulgarian Bags, Suples Balls, and all the tools and methods Mike uses to take his athleticism to the next level.

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Today, I talk about my approach to parenting and share my three golden rules for raising happy, healthy paleo kids. I delve into developmental milestones, bedtime routines, and first foods, and I compare modern parenting methods with the more intuitive child-rearing choices of tribal societies. Plus, as a dad who wants to raise his son to be evolutionarily consistent yet able to thrive in the modern world, I explain why I always try to find the most primal, paleo, and ancestral solution to any parenting problem. 

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This week, I sit for a second time with breathwork pioneer and functional breathing expert Patrick McKeown. In our previous conversation, Patrick showed us how to use our breath to improve our health and boost our athletic performance. Today, he shares some breathing techniques to help us strengthen our focus and increase our attention span.

In this episode, we talk about Patrick’s new book Atomic Focus and discuss his personal transformation from a dysfunctional mouth breather to a seasoned practitioner of slow, low nasal breathing. Patrick explains how poor breathing patterns contribute to our anxiety and insomnia, and he demonstrates how we can use our breath to change our physiology, calm our minds, and tap into a focused, high-performance flow state.

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My guest this week is Garrett Salpeter, aka The Health Engineer. After studying engineering and neuroscience at university, Garrett created the Neubie, a direct current electrostimulation device that helps the body heal and restores movement by stimulating the nervous system. Garrett is also the founder of the NeuFit method, and he has recently written a book entitled The NeuFit Method: Unleash the Power of the Nervous System for Faster Healing and Optimal Performance.

Today, we talk about neuroplasticity, the body’s innate ability to heal, and the nervous system’s role in regulating our health. Garrett describes how the Neubie and the NeuFit method help the body to recover and rehabilitate, and we dive into the healing benefits of a healthy diet, holistic health practices, and proper hydration and mineralization.

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Lately, I’ve been feeling a little triggered by those pro-vaccination ads that appear to deliberately insult the intelligence of well-informed, health-conscious individuals who’ve made the decision not to get vaccinated against Covid. As a coach, I don’t believe that demonizing a group of people who eat healthily and take care of their bodies is in anyone’s best interests. In my opinion, it only serves to drive people further apart and get in the way of promoting active, healthy lifestyles. So today, I look into the stats that show that the people who are most likely to become seriously ill with Covid tend to lead less healthy lifestyles. Plus, I share my own experience of coming into close contact with someone who recently tested positive. 

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Niraj Naik is a pharmacist turned natural healer, musician, and breathwork expert. After being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and stress-related depression, Niraj resolved to take his health into his own hands and use meditation, breathwork, and traditional Ayurvedic medicine to heal his condition. Today, Niraj is happy, healthy, and symptom-free and, through his powerful SOMA Breath system (which combines pranayama breathwork with music), he helps others lead energized, inspired, and emotionally balanced lives.

In our wide-ranging conversation, we talk about Ayurvedic medicine, breathwork, and the healing power of music. We also consider the benefits of traditional yoga, explore the correlation between longevity and rhythmic breathing, and discuss how to quieten the mind, tap into our intuition, and gain a greater sense of clarity, contentment, and perspective.

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In my first live solo video podcast, I feel it’s important to share my thoughts on nutrition and my ancestral approach to diet. I dive into how our diet has changed since we transitioned from hunter-gatherers to farmers and made the switch from mainly eating nutritionally rich animal products to consuming high-carb bread and grains. I also explain why our high-carb, high-fat, low-protein modern diet is making us fat and sick. Above all, I advise listeners to think carefully about their food choices and avoid eating high-carb, high-fat foods that spike insulin, cause addiction, and negatively impact their health.   

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